Australia’s startup scene has been transformed by a surge in venture capital investments – to a record US$630 million (AU$880, or £490m) in 2017/18, according to KPMG.

And if one looks beyond billion-dollar unicorns like Sydney-based Canva and Atlassian, it is now Melbourne that is home to the country’s hottest startup scene. Just as in Europe, it’s a mix of money from the US and local venture capital firms, like AirTree, Square Peg and Blackbird, with government funding that is driving innovation.

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Having a relatively small VC scene improves the quality of startups, argues Megan Flamer, who worked for Silicon Valley startups Mindful Under Fire and 1-Page before joining Melbourne startup incubator BlueChilli. “I've seen ridiculous, under-baked ideas funded in the US," she adds – ideas that wouldn’t get any money in Australia.

Now Melbourne is giving the world not just its devotion to good coffee, but these six startups poised for global success.

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Omny Studio

A podcasting startup that supports seven of the top-ten commercial broadcasters in the United States, as well as Mashable, and collaborates with Spotify, Apple, Google and Amazon. CEO Sharon Taylor says that, after multiple pivots, Omny found its market with a “B2B software-as-service play.” Next up: connected car services, smart speakers and “hearables” – sound-focussed wearables.

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Nuraphone

The founders of Nura claim they make the world’s first headphones that automatically adapt sound to each user. After pooling expertise in acoustics, engineering, biology and anatomy, and a successful Kickstarter campaign, they now ship the finished product to nearly 90 countries. “People’s hearing is even more diverse than people’s voices,” says CEO Dragan Petrovic.

Zero Latency

One of the challenges of virtual reality headsets is whether users can move freely. This startup enables up to eight gamers to do just that in a large indoor arena, with sensors tracking every movement. Zero Latency developed its own headsets seven years ago, and launched at Melbourne’s Pause Fest in 2014. It now has 25 venues, mainly in the Britain, the US and Japan.

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Vinomofo CEO Justin Dry with CFO Krista Diez-Simson

Vikk Shayen

99designs

This platform connects freelance designers with clients. The idea came from its founders playing “Photoshop tennis” – collaborating on design projects for fun. It worked so well, they were able to start charging clients to post their design briefs for creatives to compete in offering solutions, says CEO Patrick Llewellyn. 99designs has recently moved its HQ back to Melbourne from California.

Plattar

This augmented reality app and platform lets you see if products you want actually suit your home or office. “They’re smashing it where other AR companies are waning,” says Farley Blackman, the CEO of Melbourne-based YBF Ventures, a Plattar investor. Customers include Saab, Unilever, PWC, News Corp and Hewlett Packard Enterprise. Founder Rupert Deans grew up with dyslexia and says visualisation helped him engage with the world.

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Founded: 2017Investment raised: £850,000Founder: Rupert Deans

Vinomofo

Vinomofo sells wine from small vineyards, but it's also a social network for lovers of the grape. CEO Justin Dry comes from a family of vintners, but admits when he was younger, he found most wine shops intimidating – so he created this mashup of Etsy and Facebook. Dry has just one rule: don’t be pretentious, or as he puts it, “No bow ties and bullshit, but lots of passion.” Vinomofo plans to expand globally. It is currently based in Australia, New Zealand and Singapore, and is looking to move to the US and UK markets.